A law firm that does legal work for school districts across San Diego County has been suspended from new assignments by the agency at the Office of Education that taps attorneys for certain liability cases.

Dan Shinoff — U-T file

In suspending the Stutz Artiano Shinoff and Holtz firm, the office cited a decision by the San Ysidro School District last week to sue the firm for malpractice and file a complaint with the California State Bar.

“Given the seriousness of the allegations against Mr. Shinoff… staff felt it best to suspend assignment of new lawsuits to the Stutz firm until the malpractice suit and bar complaint are resolved,” said Music Watson, spokeswoman for the Office of Education.

The San Ysidro school board accused law firm partner Dan Shinoff of failing to bring the board a settlement offer in a case that eventually resulted in a $12 million judgment in a breach-of-contract complaint by a solar panel company.

Shinoff told the U-T on Friday that the accusations from San Ysidro are baseless. The U-T has approached him for comment on the action by the Office of Education.

U-T Watchdog reported in January that Shinoff’s firm gets more business from the legal clearinghouse at the Office of Education than any other firm -- $4.6 million of the $6.6 million of work handed out in the past three fiscal years.

Although housed at the Office of Education, the agency is known as the San Diego County Schools Risk Management Joint Powers Authority, or JPA. It is governed by a board of administrators from the school districts that use its services.

Investigative tips

Shinoff has been involved with the group since 1981, longer than any other lawyer or staff member. He once employed Diane Crosier, the executive director of the agency. He also represented Crosier’s son in a lawsuit against a San Francisco dance club in 2003, while doing work for the agency. He declined to tell the U-T whether he offered Crosier's relative any discount to his usual fees.

Crosier wrote to Shinoff this afternoon, "Due to the severity of the allegations we feel it is in the best interest of our members to suspend any new assignments until the lawsuit and bar complaint are resolved. We appreciate your many years of dedicated work for the JPA membership."

Shinoff told the U-T on Friday that the San Ysidro actions were baseless. He issued this statement today, in response to the JPA reaction:

The JPA felt it was in everyone’s best interest to suspend new assignments to the firm until all issues have been resolved. We certainly understand why the JPA feels this is necessary, given the misguided action of one of its school district members. We have had a long and successful relationship with the JPA members. We expect a speedy resolution to these issues and look forward to our continued relationship with its members.

In comments on the Watchdog’s story about how the legal work is distributed, personal injury attorney Daniel Gilleon spoke up for Shinoff and attorney Randy Winet, who receives the second largest helping of legal work from the JPA.

“Randy Winet and Dan Shinoff represent the school districts for a simple reason,” Gilleon said, “they are two of the best attorneys in San Diego, and their ethics are beyond reproach.”